Good Cheap Blazer

Thanks Dappered! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Milton Freedman

(31 July 1912 - 16 November 2006)

Whether it is in the slums of New Delhi or in the affluence of Las Vegas, it simply isn't fair that there should be any losers. Life is unfair.

Our minds tell us, and history confirms, that the great threat to freedom is the concentration of power. Government is necessary to preserve our freedom, it is an instrument through which we can exercise our freedom; yet by concentrating power in political hands, it is also a threat to freedom. Even though the men who wield this power initially be of good will and even though they be not corrupted by the power they exercise, the power will both attract and form men of a different stamp.

  

Because we live in a largely free society, we tend to forget how limited is the span of time and the part of the globe for which there has ever been anything like political freedom: the typical state of mankind is tyranny, servitude, and misery. The nineteenth century and early twentieth century in the Western world stand out as striking exceptions to the general trend of historical development. Political freedom in this instance clearly came along with the free market and the development of capitalist institutions. So also did political freedom in the golden age of Greece and in the early days of the Roman era.

History suggests only that capitalism is a necessary condition for political freedom. Clearly it is not a sufficient condition.

A Brilliant man. 

The Trigger Effect

A Highly suggested viewing.

Jeremy Brett

The only Sherlock Holmes.

Blüchersäbel

John Lobb

Golf

A bad day at golf is better than a good day at work.

L'Agent

LINK

Free

Just in case....

Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill every person you meet.

A lack of Flip Flops

The difference between an attractive girl and a sexy one is almost always apparent in her choice of footwear.

Nice Guys Finish Last

 

 

Altruism may be rewarded with prestige, but seldom with leadership

Altruism is a key component of a functioning society, but it is constantly in danger of being exploited. Selfish people can easily live off the kindness of others and, in doing so, harm the group by siphoning valuable resources. Social scientists have long sought a reasonable explanation for why altruism exists. One widely accepted assumption is that groups recognize altruistic contributions by conferring status on the generous person, whether that be through higher social rank, recognition, or simply respect. Yet this theory is not perfect, as it fails to explain why leaders who behave selfishly make it into power.

Robert Livingston, an assistant professor of management and organizations at the Kellogg School of Management, and co-authors Nir Halevy, an acting assistant professor at Stanford University, Eileen Chou, a lecturer at the Kellogg School, and Taya Cohen, an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University, are the latest to weigh in on the debate about the role of altruistic behavior in human society and its origins. Altruism, they argue, may be beneficial or detrimental to a person’s social status, depending on how it is defined. It can also serve as a barrier on the path to leadership.

The original hypothesis—that altruism leads to higher status—is based on an overly broad definition of status. Status can be broken down into two component parts, dominance and prestige, Livingston and his colleagues argue. Both refer to a person’s rank and position within a group, and both can lead to social influence and power—but the similarities end there. “Dominance,” Livingston says, “involves the use of intimidation and coercion to attain a social status based largely on the effective induction of fear.” Prestige, on the other hand, is often based on altruistic achievements or having a sound character, or even “just being a great person,” he adds. More importantly, “prestige is freely conferred by others, not imposed on others.”

Livingston cites Al Capone and the Dalai Lama as two real-world examples that illustrate the two sides of status. Al Capone garnered respect, but only because people tended to wind up dead if they crossed him. The Dalai Lama is the opposite. Respected for his teachings on nonviolence and views on democracy and religious harmony, he receives “freely conferred admiration and deference,” Livingston points out.

Rating Dominance and Prestige
Curious about how altruism might affect the two sides of status, Livingston and his colleagues conducted three separate studies. Participants were divided into four-person groups and were given ten game chips worth a total of $20, which they could allocate however they chose, including keeping the chips to themselves. The different experiments varied the level of contribution as well as whether contributions helped an individual’s group, helped an individual’s group and a separate group, or helped the individual’s group but hurt the other group.

The original hypothesis—that altruism leads to higher status—is based on an overly broad definition of status.

In each study, participants were asked to rate their fellow group members on dominance and prestige. In the second and third studies, they were also asked what type of person they would like to lead them in a within-group task or a competitive intergroup task.

In the first experiment, selfish participants—free-riders who kept all of the chips and contributed nothing to the group—were rated lower in prestige but higher in dominance than participants who contributed to the group. In subsequent studies, participants who harmed another group were also rated higher in dominance than people who contributed to their own group without harming outsiders.

Finally, the most generous individuals—those who contributed to benefit both their group and outsiders—were rated lowest in both dominance and prestige. In sum, individuals were seen as more dominant if they were selfish and discriminated in favor of their own group at the expense of others.

When it came time to select leaders, dominance and prestige played distinctly different roles, depending on the type of leadership that was required. In instances where there was no intergroup competition, people preferred individuals with more prestige. But when groups had to compete against each other, dominant individuals rose to the top while benevolent people were least likely to be elected.

Many—if not most—social contexts involve more than one group and are inherently competitive, Livingston notes. This may give selfish or dominant people an advantage in these circumstances and could be one source of corruption in governments and other organizations. “Prior theory and research has argued that power corrupts, but what our data suggest is that people may be favoring individuals with a higher propensity for corruption,” he says. “Leadership contexts are not invariably about competitive strategy. Leaders also balance budgets and make decisions that affect one’s own group alone. By definition, generous and benevolent people are more likely to behave fairly, and are less likely than selfish and dominant people to oppress and exploit others.”

A Double-edged Sword
“Do nice guys finish last?” Livingston ruminates. “In competitive contexts, the answer is often yes. The reason that they finish last is because being nice, contributing costly resources to the group, acts of generosity—these all increase your prestige. Other people admire you and say, ‘Oh, that’s really great. This is a kind person who’s doing all these wonderful things.’ But it decreases your dominance. It makes you look not so tough.”

“Altruism is a double-edged sword,” he says. “On the one hand, generous individuals are admired for their kindness, compassion, and willingness to help. On the other hand, they may be perceived as feeble ‘bleeding hearts’ who lack the guts to make tough decisions that might advance the goals of the organization.”

Taken at face value, the study’s results paint a pretty dim picture of our leaders. But things are not as bleak as they suggest. While dominance may be a defining trait of many leaders, people do pay attention to prestige as well. “Prestige and dominance are not mutually exclusive,” Livingston says.

“If you’re too soft—no matter how competent and able you are—people may not respect your authority. But if you only have dominance and you don’t have great ideas, and you use force to stay in power, then people will resent you,” he concludes. “Being successful as a leader requires one to have both dominance and prestige.”


-Tim De Chant was science writer and editor of Kellogg Insight between 2009 and 2012.

Stand & Deliver

A Free Man.

When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, "This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know," the end result is tyranny and oppression, no matter how holy the motives. Mighty little force is needed to control a man whose mind has been hoodwinked; contrariwise, no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything — you can't conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him.- Heinlein

Beretta 418

The Original gun of James Bond.

The best part of the Fall Season

Call me Snake

Back

Off until Tuesday

A long awaited trip..........

Kasteel Rouge

A Fruit forward Cherry tasting beer, (Not as sweet as a Lambic) this beer is one of my top 3 favorite beers.

The Brewers Website is HERE

Think your a man?

Think again.

Nicholas Oresko

1-18-17 to 10-04-13  

RIP Sir.

M/Sgt. Oresko was a platoon leader with Company C, in an attack against strong enemy positions. Deadly automatic fire from the flanks pinned down his unit. Realizing that a machine gun in a nearby bunker must be eliminated, he swiftly worked ahead alone, braving bullets which struck about him, until close enough to throw a grenade into the German position. He rushed the bunker and, with pointblank rifle fire, killed all the hostile occupants who survived the grenade blast.

Another machine gun opened up on him, knocking him down and seriously wounding him in the hip. Refusing to withdraw from the battle, he placed himself at the head of his platoon to continue the assault. As withering machine gun and rifle fire swept the area, he struck out alone in advance of his men to a second bunker. With a grenade, he crippled the dug-in machine gun defending this position and then wiped out the troops manning it with his rifle, completing his second self-imposed, 1-man attack. Although weak from loss of blood, he refused to be evacuated until assured the mission was successfully accomplished.

Through quick thinking, indomitable courage, and unswerving devotion to the attack in the face of bitter resistance and while wounded, M/Sgt. Oresko killed 12 Germans, prevented a delay in the assault, and made it possible for Company C to obtain its objective with minimum casualties.

Own it

It's not what you wear...It's owning it.

You Make me

A Manly Opening.......

Sahara

Navigation

The way to a mans heart is simple to navigate.

My Top 10 most Manly smells

10) Cordite

9) Shoe Polish

8) Lighter Fluid

7) Steak

6) Coffee

5) Leather

4) Cigar or Pipe Smoke

3) Scotch

2) Wood Fire

1) Bacon

Wool & Tweed

Democracy Will Fail

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the people discover they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy--to be followed by a dictatorship.”

- Alexander Fraser Tytler

 (LINK)

(LINK)

Too bad "we the people" never learn.  The media and even our elected leaders constantly & consistently call our government a Democracy.  It is also taught in our Government run schools.  Why?  Is it to convince people that we are NOT a Constitutional Republic?  

Probably.

It is utterly inconceivable to me that elected leaders who swore to uphold the Constitution have never read it, or understand its basic tenants.

"Democracy is not freedom. Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for lunch. Freedom comes from the recognition of certain rights which may not be taken, not even by a 99% vote. Those rights are spelled out in the Bill of Rights and in our Constitution. Voters and politicians alike would do well to take a look at the rights we each hold, which must never be chipped away by the whim of the majority."

They are already chipped and broken......and in some cases now cease to exist.